"The One" Fixed Blade

Spirch said:
you start with one and at some point this happen

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What is the fixed blade right below the Leatherman folder?
 
Blade Length: 9 1/2"
Overall Length: 14 1/2"
Steel: VG-1 San Mai III®
Weight: 17.5 oz
Blade Thickness: 5/16"
Handle: 5" Long Kray-Ex™
Sheath: Cor-Ex Sheath
Made in Japan

For under 300 bucks in stainless SanMai and under 150 in O-1 carbon steel.


[video=youtube;2IVKytiVD_4]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IVKytiVD_4[/video]




[video=youtube;3goX5xSlWfI]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3goX5xSlWfI[/video]
 
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I'd grab the ESEE 6 of that bunch. I personally don't see the point of spending CRK or Randall $, but that is me. ESEE has a great rep and are solid knives.
 
Of the ones mentioned--you can't really go wrong with any of those. Randalls are special, however... I have a #16 SP1 and a #5-6, and while the 16 is not as much of a camp knife as the 5-6, either will get the job done, and look damn good doing it.

Other than those listed, Busse is my "go to" hiking/camp knife... Either my Hellrazor or Skinny ASH1 will do fine, and if I want to go bigger, my TGLB... smaller, my SOB.

Lastly, Lon Humphrey's knives are worth a look; his gunfighter bowie is an excellent user and also very beautiful.

Some pics, in order of mention... (FYI, the Skinny ASH1 has since been stripped and put to work):


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There is no such animal as a "do it all" knife unless you limit the meaning of "all".
 
There is no such animal as a "do it all" knife unless you limit the meaning of "all". A chopper won't make a good skinner and rarely a good slicer which is why you don't slice tomatoes with a hatchet. For me the best all around fixed blade field knife is a 4"-4.5" flat grind blade 3/32" to 1/8" thick at the spine in a steel (carbon or stainless) easily sharpened in the field. Belly is desirable. But I usually get by perfectly fine with a SAK, a Victorinox Farmer.

For backpacking, I don't carry a fixed blade, but that may be about to change. I just bought a GEC #1 paring knife in 440C with micarta scales. Yes, I'm serious. A paring knife. I'll give it a try but can't see it adding anything to a SAK's abilities.
 
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Lots of good suggestions above as far as brands/models.
I once thought I could find the "one knife" solution, and what Ive found is that you often end up with a "jack of all trades, master of none"
Many go with the large blade-small blade combo to remedy that.

Good luck!

I will say, if you are going to sell everything off and really only get one knife, I'd make sure it has a good warranty
 
I haven't found my "one knife" for camping yet. I'd like it flexible enough for game processing as well. The one that comes closest at this point is probably the Dozier Pro Guide's knife. I have an ESEE 4. Just can't seem to like it or most ESEE's in general. The Kabar Becker BK-15 comes pretty close for a general woods knife. Not good at chopping certainly. But if I want it to do "everything", it needs a bit more weight in my opinion. But I like it quite a lot.

I definitely would not choose a BK-2 and would grab another in just about any situation.
 
My problem with woods knife/survival knife/camping knife/backpack camping knife and so forth is that in almost every situation I encounter I use my SAK for 90% of the cutting and the fixed blade gets at most 10% use. It is always more of a backup. With that said and my particular experience, I tend to go with about a 5"-6" bladed fixed blade that I'm willing to carry. I find that I am often not willing to carry a larger knife regardless of whether or not I like them. But, I could see someone choosing something larger if they find that they do a lot of chopping or batoning wood in the woods and then pairing with your favorite folder. But, you have to be willing to carry it. I'm just not there yet.
 
I'm not a fixed blade guy, admittedly, but I do have need of one on occasion. I bought a Cold Steel SRK after owning others and quit shopping. Love the handle, love the steel, love the knife. Also have a few Moras laying around of course.

You won't have any issue with an ESEE of course, but I think they're overpriced. If I were buying today I'd either get the Cold Steel again or a Lionsteel M5 or M7.
 
T.L.E. Sharp said:
You won't have any issue with an ESEE of course, but I think they're overpriced. If I were buying today I'd either get the Cold Steel again or a Lionsteel M5 or M7.
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That's interesting. ESEE 6 is US 138 and Lionsteel M5 is US 156 and M7 is US 270 at Knife Center. Care to explain how one is overpriced and the others not?
 
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Derzelas said:
That's interesting. ESEE 6 is US 138 and Lionsteel M5 is US 156 and M7 is US 270 at Knife Center. Care to explain how one is overpriced and the others not?
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He probably means that paying $18 over the esee6 to get sleipner instead of 1095 is a good deal.
 
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I just looked up the ESEE 6, $117 to your door.
I paid $130 when they first came out
 
I believe my ESSE 6 to be a better chopper than my Swamp Rat Ratmandu or Rodent-5. Just not real hip friendly. Ratmandu can do it all.
 
The problem you'll run into is that you are asking too much from one knife. A knife that'll be good for chopping will be a very mediocre hunting knife because it'll be too large and/or thick.
IMO a 4-5 inch blade is the perfect belt knife size. Small enough for finer tasks. Large enough to do light batoning.
6-8 inch blades are too much compromise. Want a knife good for chopping and batoning? You have a thick blade that really doesn't cut well. Want a blade for batoning and cutting? It'll probably be too light for chopping.
 
Derzelas said:
That's interesting. ESEE 6 is US 138 and Lionsteel M5 is US 156 and M7 is US 270 at Knife Center. Care to explain how one is overpriced and the others not?
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There's the steel upgrade as mentioned above and Lionsteel makes a nicer product. Its no more effective at it's job really than the ESEE, as ESEE makes a fine knife, but the ESEE is very basic and utilitarian. Its a slab of cheap, but good steel with some holes drilled in order to affix slabs of micarta.

The Lionsteel has style. It feels more special with the rounded spines, the contoured and milled handles, etc. Plus, they offer olive wood in the M5 and I'm a sucker for a curvy blonde.

I like using AND owning things like the Lionsteel M5. I just like using the ESEE. I'm happy to pay a little extra for the pride(see what I did there?) I guess.
 
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